This invention relates to the detection of nonlinear distortions in equipment, such as those used in in cable and wireless systems, as well as in other applications.
Nonlinear distortions are frequently generated in equipment used in cable systems, and in wireless systems. Thus, nonlinear distortions such as second, third or higher order distortion signals may for example be generated by (overdriven) amplifiers, clipped analog lasers, or overloaded A-D converters, or nonlinear elements in a signal path. Excessive nonlinear distortion in a transmitter or signal path results in received signals with high modulation error rate (MER), which results in a high packet error ratio.